Article carriers are widely employed to expand the carrying capacity of vehicles while maintaining comfort within the passenger compartment. Rooftop carriers are well known and popular because they are unobtrusive and self-storing on the roof when not in use. However, access to a roof top carrier can be awkward and cumbersome, particularly with taller vehicles. As such, the inconvenience of rooftop carriers deters the everyday use of them. Moreover, rooftop carriers are dependent upon the structural strength of the vehicle roof and therefore may be limited in the carrying capacity.
Rear mounted cargo carriers have also been employed to increase the cargo capacity of the vehicle. While rear mounted cargo carriers undesirably stick out from the end of a vehicle when not in use, they have strong mounts to the vehicle and can hold relatively heavy and awkward loads compared to roof mounted carriers. Furthermore, the loading and unloading of a rear cargo carrier is extremely convenient compared to a roof mounted carrier.
On the other hand, many rear-mounted carriers require specialized mounting hardware to secure the carrier to the vehicle resulting in undesirable added structure and cost. Furthermore, many of these rear cargo platforms extend horizontally from the hitch assembly and do not provide for adequate clearance with the ground. This inadequate clearance can further be aggravated by the loaded condition where the extra cargo weight in the rear tilts the entire motor vehicle to allow the rear cargo carrier to tilt toward the ground. In extreme cases, the carrier can be damaged as the vehicle moves along in a loaded condition if there is contact of the platform with the ground. In addition, rear cargo platforms are bulky and are not amenable to storage within the vehicle interior when they are not in use.
What is desired is a cargo carrier that can be easily dismounted and disassembled to be stored within the vehicle interior when not in use. What is also desired is a rear mounted cargo carrier that is positioned to maintain adequate vertical clearance from the ground.